Kentuckians could get permanent access to early voting options

(The Center Square) – A bill to reform Kentucky’s election process easily cleared the state House of Representatives on Friday and will now head to the Senate.

House Bill 574 passed with a 93-4 vote. Among the changes in the legislation is the creation of a three-day, no-excuse early voting period. That would include a Saturday session to allow people whose work hours may keep them from voting on Election Day.

The bill comes after Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams, a Republican, and Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, reached an agreement on emergency election reforms during the COVID-19 pandemic. The reforms, which included expanded in-person and absentee voting, helped set new records for turnout.

“That result caused many people in this room, many representatives and many citizens to consider what, if any, of the emergency election procedures should be adopted into law,” state Rep. Jennifer Decker, R-Waddy, said on the House floor.

Decker, a freshman representative, is one of the bill’s six sponsors.

Other reforms that the bill includes is allowing counties to create hubs where any registered voter in the county cast their ballot. This was also a carryover from the pandemic voting plan.

Adams in an interview that aired Sunday on WKYT’s Kentucky Newsmakers said 45% of Kentucky’s 2020 voters cast their ballot in person but also in advance of the election.

For absentee voting, counties would be able to start counting those ballots up to 14 days ahead of the election day. The county may also accept absentee ballots through a drop box. Additionally, absentee voters who have their signatures challenged would have a chance to prove their identity.

The legislation would also give Adams and future secretaries of state more power to trim voter rolls. Adams said his office has nearly caught up on removing deceased people from the registry, but current statutes keep him from striking those who have moved away from the state and registered elsewhere.

“Even if I’m notified of that, I can’t pick those people off,” Adams said. “I have to leave them on our rolls while they’re still on some other rolls in some other state voting in the other state… That could be hundreds of thousands of voters.”

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